Jacqueline Rose

How did you become interested in this field of study?
I love trees and wanted to find a field that had a substantial field component, and the forestry sciences require me to go outside to collect my data. I feel unbelievably lucky that I get to do so much fieldwork!

What is the title of the ARI project you are working on?
“Evaluating the Role of Pathogen and Wildfire Interactions in Driving Calamitous Wildfire in Big Sur and Sonoma.”

Briefly describe your project and why it is important to California agriculture or natural resources.
A pathogen (Phytophthora ramorum) that was first observed in California in the mid-1990s, is killing trees in California’s forests. The pathogen, an oomycete, is a fungus-like organism that feeds on decaying plant matter. My research project focuses on how the pathogen affects the vegetative composition of plant communities in Big Sur by causing disease and tree death. We would like to know if once the disease is established in an area, does this result in fewer native herbaceous species? Are swaths of the forest converting into chaparral as the oaks die? Does the presence of the disease affect recovery of a vegetative community following wildfire? I am lucky that I was able to join a project that already had a lot of data gathered from previous years. I am collecting data from plots established in 2006, and my analyses also include data collected by numerous field crews before me.

Why are you interested in this project?
The forests of California are changing due to anthropogenic impacts on the environment, and I want to know how they are changing.

Describe your role in this ARI project.
In the summers of 2018 and 2019, I lived at the Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve in Big Sur, and as a part of a team I helped resurvey plots throughout Monterey County. In the off-season, I have been performing statistical analysis on our collected data and preparing a manuscript for publication.

What do you hope to learn, or have you learned, through your involvement?
I have learned so much! During the field season, I have learned about various ways to measure forest fuels, how to track tree growth and forest health, plant species and disease symptom identification, and how to resolve conflicts when both working and living with your colleagues. I have also learned a lot about how to avoid poison oak and how to deal with the urushiol rash when you’re unsuccessful at avoiding it. In the off-season, being a part of this project finally provided me with the impetus to become proficient in the R programming language and to build my understanding of the various statistical analyses used in scientific studies.

What do you want to do after graduation, and how will working on this ARI project help you to achieve that goal?
This project has solidified my desire to find a job with a strong field component. Before this, I had not had the opportunity to do any fieldwork. I was certain I would like it but I didn’t have the experience to back up that certainty. I am quite positive now that if I could enjoy fieldwork in Big Sur—with the merciless face flies, unrelenting sun, impossible gradients, horrendous tourist traffic, ubiquitous poison oak and the insidious urushiol rashes—then I can enjoy fieldwork almost anywhere.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us regarding your background and interests?
My bachelor’s degree was in mechanical engineering from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts. I worked on medical devices for a few years and helped design the Sherpa Suction Guide, a device that helps prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in intubated patients.
For the past year, I have taught the NR208 (dendrology) course at Cal Poly, and even with my having to transfer the course online due to COVID-19, I can say that it’s been one of the best experiences of my life